The future isn't written yet
by Caledonia1986
Summary: A trip through an anomaly goes badly wrong. Nick and Connor find themselves 20 years after their own time. And it's only just the beginning.... Now completed!
1. Chapter 1

The future isn't written yet

**Disclaimer: I don't ow****n anything, I'm just borrowing and I don't make any money from this. And If I catch someone copying my stories for own profits, they will be prosecuted!**

Rating: T (for swearing and violence in later chapters)

Summary: A trip through an anomaly goes badly wrong, Nick and Connor find themselves twenty years after their own time. And it's only just the beginning…

**Reviews are very much welcome!**

**Note: All characters aside from the main ones (namely Allison and Luke) are my own creation and any similarities with living or dead persons are purely accidental.  
**

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Chapter one

Date: Wednesday, 15th of March 2010, 15h25

Location: Anomaly Research Centre, London, UK

Smiling Jenny glanced down at the slender silver ring that graced her hand. She and Nick were happily married for half a year now, which in itself was amazing. The wedding had been perfect, even though they had all expected the worst. They had feared that an anomaly would suddenly turn up, most likely in some populated area knowing their luck with that; or even worse that Helen would somehow spoil the day. So, expecting an attack, Captain Becker had a whole wagon-load of Special Forces outside, scanning the territory, making sure no one could disrupt the wedding. Which was kept quite small and simple, Nick accepting Jenny's wishes there. But he had only very reluctantly agreed to that, knowing that Jenny had always dreamed of a big wedding, he just wanted to give the woman he loved the perfect day, though he wasn't one for big weddings.  
But due to the fact that neither of them had any close relatives, they had finally agreed that it should be just them and the ARC-team. The service at the church had been absolutely beautiful, with Connor being Nick's best man (The boy had worn a suit that day, accompanied by his fingerless gloves, hilarious combo) and Abby with Sarah being Jenny's brides-maiden. It was small, yes, but it had been wonderful. Mostly due to the fact that it had been very few guests and the team had become more than just friends to them.

So bottom line, it had been the perfect wedding to Jenny and it still was now, which she remembered every time she looked at the gleaming silver at her hand.

And as Jenny stood and watched her husband talk to Connor whilst sitting at the ADD; she just couldn't escape the feeling of perfection spreading throughout her entire body. This day was special, it was worthy of remembrance; she kept thinking that as she touched her belly lovingly. She would tell Nick tonight, after they had headed home and left all the weird things behind for the night; and if Jenny was true to herself, she couldn't wait for it. Almost she wished the sun to hurry towards the west, making the time pass more quickly, so that the moment would come earlier.

But before that she had to talk to Abby for guidance on how to tell Nick.

For Jennifer Cutter was pregnant.

* * *

Jenny found the soon to be Mrs. Connor Temple (Connor had proposed three months ago and they were right in the middle of planning the wedding) in her lab surrounded by her strange prehistoric plants, watering them. But ever so often the young woman would stop and scribble something down on a paper.

Smiling Jenny stepped closer and after gaining Abby's attention properly, she dropped the bomb, which resulted only in happy shouts and lots of hugs, followed by loads of questions and congratulations. At length the woman composed herself and sat down at one of the lab tables, forgetting her plans and worries and plants for a bit, while they sat and talked.

And though Jenny was sure that Nick would freak out due to pure joy (he loved children, he just never admitted it to her); she wasn't sure how to spread the news to him. That certainly was nothing for casual talk, it was serious and Jenny never was very good at talking about serious things, she even was a little frightened about it.

But Abby took all her concerns and threw them away as she began asking stuff about the baby like whether it was a boy or a girl (which Jenny couldn't answer because she had no idea) or what names she would choose for her or him. She even hoped that the child would inherit Nick's blue eyes and her looks, and to be honest, that would look extremely cute.

The two women continued talking for about half an hour, until the blaring of the anomaly alert echoed through the halls and corridors of the ARC.

Grumbling Jenny followed Abby to the main room, where they found the rest of the team already assembled and Connor hacking on his keyboard to get the exact coordinates of the anomaly.

"Ok, guys, it's in the Forest of Dean." He announced with a quick unsure glance towards Nick, who moved instantly and without further words to the hallway to get to the cars. Yet Jenny had caught the sidelong glance he had shot to her, apparently, the Forest of Dean was a location he had bad memories with.

_Great, now we'll spend the rest of the day and possibly the night with chasing some creature through the woods…_

She thought of it as she followed her husband and climbed into the Hilux with him. Then the announcement of pregnancy would have to wait until the next day.

Little did Jenny know that there would be no day left to tell her beloved husband.

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ok, so its a little short, and I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Next chappie will be up soon!

Tell me what you think of it, yu know me, I love Reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

ok, next chapter up! Hope you enjoy it!

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Date: Wednesday, 15th of March 2010, 17h 15

Location: Forest of Dean, UK

Almost mockingly the shards of the glimmering anomaly gleamed towards them and glittered in the gathering twilight. Frowning Nick stood in front of it and stared. It had been there for more than two hours now and as far as he could tell nothing had crossed over yet. There were no foot-prints, no strange sightings had been reported; if it weren't for the anomaly right in front of him he would have suspected everything to be normal.

_But when was life for you normal since the anomalies started appearing?_

Next to him stood Connor, ironically with a frown that matched his. The young man typed some things into the newest version of the handheld detector, which could allow him to find out if the anomaly would fade again. But so far it showed no signs of weakening at all. Sighing the boy turned towards him.

"So far everything seems to hold. But I guess, we'll have to take a look ourselves, because the Rover is still out of the game and will be for at least the next couple of weeks." Connor mumbled towards his team-leader, who only responded with a slight nod, giving it some thought before he answered.

"I guess, we have no other choice. We need the data for the Matrix."

They had named the scale model of anomalies like that, which had resulted in gleaming eyes from Connor due to the ominous name. But there was really no other choice than to have a look themselves, the Rover had been nearly destroyed during some creature hunt in Exeter, which had led them to a very angry cave-bear out of the Eocene.

Of course, Becker wasn't too thrilled about them going through the anomaly, but evidently he was voted out. They needed him on their side of the anomaly, just in case something did cross over and decided to attack the team waiting for them. And they couldn't send anyone else in, because Nick was the only one to tell for sure in which time period they stepped. And it had to be a small group of people to take a look, for if it was a dangerous period of time, it was best to be few. Less dangerous that way. Not very much less dangerous, but at the least a small group would not draw much attention.

So, in the end the Captain agreed after a bit of arguing and persuading, but he insisted on both to take guns with them. And this time he remained victorious, because arguing with him on that was quite pointless. After all, it could be Helen waiting on the other side.

Ten minutes later, both Nick and Connor were equipped and ready to go, but Nick stood a bit out of sight from the others, Jenny standing stern and silent next to him. Her anxious gaze drifted towards the anomaly, while Nick stared at her again. She could feel it, his eyes on every freckle in her face, as if he wanted to picture her just like this. She had the weird feeling that Nick had a bad Déjà vu with this, so she chose her words with care. Holding his hands and letting her thumb wander across the pale silver of his ring, Jenny looked up into the clear blue of his eyes. Unlucky for her, she couldn't hide her fear swiftly enough and Nick perceived it soon.

"Jen, don't worry. Everything will be fine. We'll just take a look around and then we'll return right away."

Doubting Jenny lifted her left eyebrow. Then she sighed heavily. She knew very well that it was necessary, but right now she wished that the Rover was not broken or that no anomaly had turned up at all.

"Listen, just be careful. I don't want to lose you."

Reassuringly Nick pulled his wife towards him, kissing her light and lovingly, just feeling her skin underneath his hands, breathing the scent of her brown silken hair. With a last kiss they parted and briefly Jenny believed him. It was nothing big, they would be back in a matter of minutes at the most. So she joined Abby and even managed to smile at the young woman, while Nick and Connor stepped through the rotating shards of the anomaly.

* * *

The cocking of several guns and rifles greeted them and sent shivers down Nick's spine. Instantly they froze, fearing a trap from Helen, but the soldiers in front of them didn't look much like Helen's henchmen. They were experienced soldiers, not at the slightest irritated by the anomaly glittering behind them, which made Nick wonder where they had ended up. Quickly he risked a glance around. It looked pretty much the same, woods around them as far as the eye could see, but those soldiers irritated him. Strangely they looked like an advanced version of their own Special Forces.

"Where the hell are we?" he heard Connor whisper next to him, but in the still forest it was loud as a spoken word.

"This is the Forest of Dean. Now it's my turn to do the asking if you please." A female voice answered him and they could see a young woman step out of the ranks of soldiers. She couldn't possibly be older than Abby, she looked about twenty and wore dark combat trousers, a green tank top and a black jacket. Her right hand clasped a tranquilliser gun, but her face was the most astonishing. She was achingly beautiful, her light brown hair held back by a small clip, her piercing blue gaze demanding answers and promising wisdom far beyond her age. She was thin, extensive field work probably, but seemed strong, not only through mere strength of her body, but also of her mind. Her eyes were keen and hard, black shadows of make-up underlining them, making the blue of her gaze even more intense, a deep feeling hidden in the depths of it; but a huge wall encircled her emotions, shutting them from the rest of the world. Nick knew that wall very well, he had it too and was still trying to put it down again. But the shade of her eyes was akin to his own and she seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he wasn't able to tell why. The young woman stood aware, but relaxed in front of them, the soldiers still aiming at the two men. Her mere posture, the slender hand resting casually on her hip, proud and challenging; made it clear that she was the leader of this group. Her body was perfect as if it had been made for sinning and men dying for the pleasure of this woman, yet there was an air of knowledge surrounding her and that was not only due to the fact that she was certain of her power and leader-ship and acted like it.

Momentarily both men were unable to speak with surprise, while Connor just stared at the woman in front and Nick's mind worked at 40 miles an hour.

This couldn't be the Forest of Dean, could it? Technically it was possible, but then the anomaly must be one leading into the near future, because Nick didn't know about anyone else other than the ARC personnel knowing about Anomalies. But that raised a series of new questions, which demanded answering. For instance, how far into the future had they gone (in general) and who (in particular) was that girl?

A few moments there was a silence, apparently the woman gave them time to get used to the idea of ending up in the near future. At length Nick spoke.

"What's the date today?" he asked, feeling that he already dreaded the answer.

"It's Tuesday the 25th of August, 2031."

Then the jaws of both men snapped open, and Nick felt a headache approaching as his mind shifted to the next gear in order to find an explanation for this.

The beeping of Connors detector yanked him out of his thoughts again, the anomaly was disappearing. Suddenly the time portal behind them snapped shut, no bulging, it just closed too fast for anyone to react and suddenly Nick thought of Jenny more than he was searching for an answer. Strangely it seemed to him that he could hear his wife's agonized cry from afar, passing through time and space to mock him.

* * *

"What? 2031?" breathed Connor astonished. He too had problems with getting his head on that, but Nick's only care right now was how to get back.

"Who are you? Identify yourselves and where you came from." The woman challenged again and stepped closer, her hand still firmly grasping the tranquilliser gun.

Her face remained emotionless, though several of the others behind the ranks of black-clad soldiers gasped as Nick told their names. Only the eyes of the woman in front told that she knew way more than she was willing to tell.

"I think it would be best if you'd come with us. I don't like being in the open with Helen on the run." The woman said and turned abruptly towards several Jeeps that were parked a bit away.

"What makes you think we'd go with you?" Connor asked, momentarily surprised by his sudden courage in the face of so many rifles and guns, yet that courage soon faded again as the woman returned her piercing gaze at him.

"It's not like you have much of a choice. Gentlemen, you will now be disarmed. All cell phones, I-Pods, Palm-Tops or other electronical devices will be taken from you for examination. You will get them back later, when your identity is confirmed. Any disobeying will result in the use of deadly force against you. We don't want to harm you, but we have to hold on to our security levels. And those demand any people crossing the anomaly to be brought back to base for interrogation."

Without waiting for reaction she turned again and the soldiers immediately surrounded both Nick and Connor. Very reluctantly they handed over their guns and let themselves being taken to one of the Jeeps. The woman was right, they had no choice, there was no anomaly to go back into and they were in a time they had no clue about. Wandering in it could be dangerous. So, while they were driven away they both silently agreed that if they wanted answers they had to play the game of that woman. Whoever she was.

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ok, so you know the deal! Review if you like, they make my day a little bit brighter!


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, people, here it is! Chapter three! Sorry for the late submit, but I was ill the past few days and therefore not able to sit upright and write over longer periods of time...

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Chapter three

Date: 25th August 2031, 19 h 25

Location: New ARC, Central London, UK

Nick and Connor sat in a white clean interrogation room, dominated by a large round table. A guard stood watch at the doors, but that probably wasn't the only device of surveillance, at the least they suspected cameras hidden within the walls to cover everyone of their movements. They had both only caught a small glimpse of the building to which the woman had brought them, but nothing looked familiar. Soon after their arrival there had been a doctor to get blood samples from them. As to why he wouldn't tell, but again, both men were forced to obey, because the soldiers following him had their weapons ready to open fire at them. But other than that, Nick and Connor had not seen anyone except themselves and the silent guard at the door. Both were nervous, though Connor more plainly than Nick, the boy had mumbled something about needles giving him the creeps.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Connor asked for about the fifth time now, yet still Nick had no answer to that, but he had given it some thought.

"Well, I don't know Connor. But if they wanted to hurt us, they would already have. And besides, I still don't think they belong to Helen in any way. Whoever these people are, they seem to dislike her probably even more than we already do. So I guess, we'll just have to wait."

The waiting soon was done, because the woman from the anomaly site entered the room and ordered the guard outside to cover the door. Then, in a leisurely kind of way she walked towards the two men and looked long in Nick's eyes without saying a word. At length she breathed deeply, as if she was plucking up courage and started speaking. Her voice was neither challenging nor offensive now, she seemed very interested and eager to learn whatever the men had to tell.

"First off, I'm sorry for this treatment, but I had my orders. So, how about we forget that and start all over, hm?" She paused, waiting for a reaction. Connor shot a questioning glance across to Nick, who sat still and watchfully aware of the woman, he was suspecting some sort of trick. Maybe his experiences with Helen made him distrustful of people, he didn't know.

"Why did you wanted blood samples from us?" he asked, that was right now the most pressing question on his mind.

"We needed them to confirm your identity. Also we have a personality profile here, which allowed us to rule out you are Helen's clones. As far as we can tell, you really are who you claim to be." Her voice got quieter, as if she was talking to herself. Interested Nick frowned and narrowed his eyes. There was a personality profile of him and Connor? He didn't remember that ever being done.

"Listen, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but answer me one of mine first." The woman asked and held his gaze steadily.

"All right, shoot. What's the question?" Nick answered, while Connor still stared at the woman, as if he wanted to deduce what the question was.

"What year was it when you stepped through the anomaly on your side?"

"March 2010."

The woman's eyes widened for a moment, but she regained control over herself fast and sat back, her brow frowned in deep thought.

Nick took her pausing as sure evidence that she knew more than she was letting on, she just was unwilling to tell them. He used the opportunity to ask the most pressing question on his mind, he just had to know, though Nick had a vague feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"Ok, so you know who we are. But we still have no clue who you are. So, who are you and whose side are you on?" he asked, almost demanding, while his steady blue gaze rested on the features of the woman.

"I'm on humanity's side and against Helen. That was what you wanted to know for sure, I can tell. As for my name, it's Allison. Allison Janine Cutter."

For the second time this day both men were speechless. Now Nick knew why this woman seemed so familiar. She looked a bit like Jenny.

* * *

"What? Your name's Cutter?" breathed Connor, finding his speech a lot faster than Nick, who sat abashed, staring at the woman, hoping to God it wasn't true. He even hoped for a trap from Helen, to lull him in false peace to attack him later. Anything, just not the truth of this day. It meant that his Jenny, the Jenny he knew and loved and had married, was pregnant the day he had left. It would explain why this Allison was about twenty. She had been born when he was no longer there. And it was his fault, as so much had been lately. And he was sorry for it. He didn't exactly know why, of course he couldn't possibly had known what was going to happen, but seeing it now, this young woman; his daughter probably, sitting there, hard and unforgiving, hurt more than anything else before. Silently he wondered what terrors this girl had witnessed to hide her feelings behind so high a wall.

Finally he found the courage to speak again, though he felt like shit, because he had left her alone, her and Jenny. But he had to know for sure.

"Your mother. It's Jenny, isn't it?" he asked quietly and looked into the pale blue of her eyes. He saw the hurt creep into them at the mentioning of Jenny, but he doubted that anyone could have seen it. It was too deeply hidden, maybe he even was wrong and didn't see it rightly.

"Yes, she was my mother. She often told me about you, showed me photos and all that. But after Helen released a clone of you, she got overprotective and wanted security levels to be straightened. She did everything within her powers to ensure I had as good a childhood as possible."

The fact that Allison was talking about his wife in the past sent shivers of a bad feeling down his spine.

"Where is she now?" he whispered, though he could guess the answer. Connor sat silent next to him, following the conversation and perceiving the pain in his friend's eyes. He deemed it better to just be silent for the moment, this was no place or time for him to start waffling.

Allison looked down at the table, tears twinkling in her eyes from a horrific memory.

"Mum died two years ago. Tried to protect me. We walked across Helen at an anomaly site. Helen had opened the anomaly to lure us there. As soon as she saw us she opened fire on us. Three soldiers were killed immediately, the rest was mauled by creatures. I was shot, but it wasn't so severe. Suddenly Helen was there, right in front of me. I remember that Mum pushed me out of the way. She was shot in the chest three times. She died on the way back." Her voice was that of a scared or hurt child, and at the same time full of anger at Helen. Though in this moment Nick couldn't react on it in any way. Jenny was dead here, the woman he loved more than the waking world, the one woman he would give up everything for, would do anything she asked him to. The one woman he would die for.

* * *

The pain and the guilt was almost unbearable, Nick felt it clearer than anything before. Of course, the rational part of his mind told him that there was no way he could have known that his going through the anomaly would have such devastating consequences, but the pure emotional part within him screamed that it was his fault, that he should have been more careful. And he believed it really. Right in front of him sat living, breathing proof that he had failed Jenny. Ok, so he had no reason to believe Allison that her story was true, but somewhere deep within him, he knew it was true. He just knew it. He knew now he would have a daughter, and due to his foolishness she would grow up bereft of her father and would lose her mother. And he wasn't there to protect either of them. Temporarily he stepped out of the questioning, allowed his mind to get around to the fact that his daughter had to grow up without him, that in her timeline he wasn't there to see her first smile or her first steps, or answer the questions she had. Meanwhile Connor asked about the place they had been brought into and Allison told him this was the New ARC, the old one had been destroyed during a massive attack from Helen. She seemed determined to wipe the ARC and anyone within from the face of the earth. As to why, not even Allison was able to tell.

While the young woman talked, Nick watched her closely. She had his eyes and the shade of her hair was lighter than Jenny's, she was a beautiful woman and he could only imagine how cute she must have been as a child. But there were tiny scars on her face, probably due to the fact that she had to fight several creatures.

Suddenly Nick decided he shouldn't be thinking of her getting harmed, but turn his mind on how they could get back, or why the anomaly had ended up here in the first place, so he could change all that, and this time we didn't heed the consequences of that. There were innumerable possibilities for the anomaly to open, but this had been the destination of it. Why?

But the voice of Allison pulled him out of thought, like Jenny always had.

"It's so much clearer now. Of course you had to step through the anomaly to end up here. Otherwise this future wouldn't exist. Well, maybe it would nonetheless, but I wouldn't be the same, and no one can foresee what consequences that could have. The fact that I know you both vanished in 2010 results only because in my timeline you did. And because we couldn't change that, Mum had to raise me herself. And because of that I am who I am now." Allison had spoken quietly again as if this was a theory she had thought of earlier. But it was hugely confusing, even Nick was getting a slight headache now and he was used to unconventional thinking.

"And because we vanished, no one of you was allowed to step through the anomaly to have a look." Connor stated, which earned him a sidelong glance from Allison, apparently she was surprised by the pace his thoughts moved. Then she nodded silently.

"Yeah. Mum told me that Lester forbid it. He thought it was too dangerous. After you vanished, Mum became leader of the Anomaly team, and after Helen destroyed the old ARC, I was voted leader. They said, it was only fitting because I'm a Cutter as well. Weird, really weird."

Her eyes sort of clouded over, as if she was seeing something from long ago in her memory again.

"What's weird?" Nick asked, his protective personality trait at its best.

"Well, I never though I'd actually see you one day. We all believed you got killed on the other side of the anomaly. Officially you two were labelled as 'missing in action' but we all thought you dead. It's weird to sit here and talk to you two. I wish the others could be here as well. I'm sure to you this must seem like a horrible nightmare, and all that happened, but this is the world I have been born into. I know nothing else."

Right in the middle of this, a young man; about Allison's age, came running through the door, breathing hard, as if he had run at a fast pace.

"Allie, the anomaly, it was not natural." he blurted out, then froze to the spot as he set eyes on Connor. And looking to his left, Nick saw that his younger friend stared at the visitor also. Suddenly the young man spoke.

"Man, Mum always told me I look like my father, but this is creepy." he exclaimed wide-eyed.

Connor only grew paler, but said nothing.

"Wait. Father?" Nick asked with a disbelieving glance towards Connor. After a few moments of hesitation Connor finally began to speak again.

"We never had the chance to tell you properly. Two days before we went through the anomaly, Abby told me she's pregnant. We wanted to tell you at the wedding. Abby swore me to secrecy. You have her eyes." Connor said to the young man in front of them, whose breathing quickly steadied.

"I'm Luke. Luke Maitland." He announced, taking the whole situation for granted. Again silence reigned, only broken by the steady beeping of the gadget Luke was holding. Suddenly Allison spoke again.

"Luke, what did you mean by 'the anomaly wasn't natural'?" she asked and Luke only hesitated for a moment, before he returned his gaze towards Allison.

"Well, you know we can differ between anomalies that opened just like that and anomalies who have been opened. This one has been opened. It surprised me that Helen didn't attack us then, she knew where we were."

Frowning Allison stared on the small screen of Luke's gadget.

"Yes, me too. She never missed an opportunity to strike. Why didn't she this time? Man, that nutcase is getting stranger with every day that passes. Why should she open that anomaly and let you walk through? And if she didn't intend you to walk through, why didn't she attack us, while she had the chance? Oh, boy I feel my next migraine approaching." She announced and pressed her left hand to her temple.

"I'm going to need coffee. I can't think without it. You want to come too?" Allison asked both Nick and Connor, who only hesitated briefly, before they stood up and followed Allison out the door. Luke walked behind them and still fiddled with that gadget. Fascinated Nick took in his surroundings. It looked like an old bunker or something, barely any windows, rooms stuffed with technical devices, labs, locker rooms without end. Corridor followed corridor, an endless maze more confusing than anything he had ever seen.

"This is the New ARC? It's kind of depressing, isn't it?" he asked Allison, who walked slightly in front, only to be answered by her faint laugh.

"Yeah, sometimes. On the other hand, Helen has no idea, where our base now is, so I like it in a way. Of course, its nothing against the old ARC, but it's ok, I guess. These are the lower levels, we'll head upstairs, there's the cafeteria. And there are even some windows." She added a little sarcastic, which reminded Nick hugely of Jenny. She too was sarcastic when she chose to be. And it was funny indeed that Allison had inherited that personality trait from her. A while he fell silent and watched her. The way she moved or talked, everything was fascinating and disturbing at the same time. He barely paid any attention to his way anymore, it was strange how Allison had the ability to rule his universe. And the fact that she was his and Jenny's daughter and she stood up to Helen and had managed to stand up every time she had been thrown to the ground made him immensely proud of her.

At length they reached the higher levels and the cafeteria. It was a large oval room, big windows everywhere, a harsh contrast to the neon-lit underground beneath them. Outside darkness reigned, but in there the night was banished out. Allison talked to them that most of the staff went home, but she and her team have accommodation within the New ARC. The lights were dimmed down, but it looked more cosy than forsaken. A few people were there, mostly lab staff, judging by the clothing. Allison walked determined across the room towards the first coffee machine she saw and waited patiently until the brown liquid filled a plastic cup. Luke brought them water, but asked politely if they wanted coffee as well. After they had denied that, he only shrugged and accepted a cup full of tea from Allison.

"You two are friends, hm?" asked Connor, aiming for a casual tone, he was suspecting there was more to it and honestly, even Nick had recognized the sidelong glances Luke gave to Allison. And if he could spot it, it must have been quite obvious. And the reaction of both Luke and Allison told the rest of the story. It lifted only briefly Allison's mood, she was thinking, her eyes gazed into nowhere, while she absentmindedly drank her coffee. Suddenly she spoke again.

"Ok, let's think this thing through. Helen opened that anomaly, right? So there are now two choices as to why she did that. One, she had no idea that it would end up in 2010 and you two would step through and she only planned to attack us." Luke opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short by Allison, who hadn't yet lifted her gaze off the floor.

"Wait, I'm not finished yet. The other choice is that she knew what would happen, that you would walk through and she planned that. Which, I think is more likely. She never did anything without having a plan. But the real question is, what is she up to now?"

"And why would she want us to get here?" asked Nick, who had quickly caught up with Allison's thought process.

"Well, the point is that only because you two vanished I'm who I am now. And that is her worst enemy. And why would she open that anomaly so that history, at least my version of it, could take place?"

"Do you remember what she said last time we crossed her plans?" asked Luke, grimly staring down at the cup in his hands. Allison blinked quickly, he had broken her thought.

"Erm, she said something pathetic like we would live to regret that. Why?"

"She also said, that she would find a way to get rid of us all at once. What tells us that it is not just this? That this, your appearance here, is not an essential part of her plan? What if she wanted just that?" he looked at his comrade, but Allison just frowned and tried to get her head around that.

"So what? She plans to attack us, while both Connor and Dad are here?"

Briefly Nick's thoughts stopped entirely as he realized that Allison had just called him 'Dad'. Weird, but it felt good somehow.

_Stop it, you can ponder on it later…_

"No! Christ, for someone really clever, you're incredibly stupid sometimes!" the young man cried out, but his knowingly smile told that he was used to that. And just that shout seemed to trigger something in Allison's mind and she went a shade paler.

"Wait. If she plans to get rid of us, she doesn't have to be here to do that."

Now Nick realized to and matched her expression.

"She knows that you can cross her plans, no matter what she throws at you. She knew that we would step through that anomaly and would end up here, which is what you already know. She knew we're stuck here and couldn't stop her from going back to our time."

"And if she gets to Mum, who has no idea of what my version of Helen is capable of, she could seriously hurt her or even kill her. Then I would never be born and Helen would win. Plus, if she kills Jenny before I'm even born, you would be crushed. That's what I call a win-win-situation." Finished Allison. Her face grew almost deathly pale, as realization of the consequences dawned on her.

"Do we have a chance to find her, before she enters an anomaly?" asked Connor, knowing very well, that an attack on his and Nick's version of the ARC could result in drastic changes of the future. It was complicated to understand the whole deal, but it was narrowed down by the simple truth that they had to find Helen, before she managed to get through an anomaly and to the ARC and the people they cared for. Seeing Luke nod quickly, Connor relaxed a bit. Here they were on uneven ground, but Luke and Allison had the means to change their chances in this.

"Yeah, we can track Helen down, but only when she goes into preparations to open an anomaly. That leaves us with very little time to act." He looked towards Allison for orders.

"Do it nonetheless. And set the others ready. If she resurfaces, we must be quick. We have to stop her now."

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ok, as always tell me what you think of it... I'm not entirely satisfied with it, I feel like I'm writing in circles...


	4. Chapter 4

ok, so here's chapter four! I hope you enjoy it, even though I'm not truly satisfied with it^^

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Chapter four

Date: 27th August 2031, 21 h 26

Location: New ARC, Central London, UK

Silent Nick and Connor sat a bit away from the others. Allison had talked to the new supervisor of them, who was Lester's oldest daughter, and was now busy with coordinating the others and gather the equipment they needed. Luke basically never left his computer, he tried to find Helen's trail.

Most of the day, the two men had left them to it. They couldn't help anyway. Not even Connor knew anything of those computers, seeing as it was twenty years after their own time. Both men were lost within their own thought, yet that bound them even closer together. They both were trapped here, knowing that Helen could launch an attack on their loved ones any minute. Their talk had subsided some time ago and they both sat and watched their children silently. Yet as Connor glanced across to his friend, he caught a glimpse of guilt on his features. Nick was blaming himself again, but Connor knew it was no ones fault. If there was anyone to blame, it was Helen alone. Yet somehow Connor wanted to put Nick's mind to more pleasant matters rather than thinking of his ex-wife.

"It's strange, you know? Luke, he looks so much like me. Never thought that such a thing was possible. I thought he would be somewhere between Abby and me. I even hoped that he would be more like Abby." He chuckled slightly and surprisingly Nick smiled, but said nothing. So Connor tried again.

"You know, I think I can understand that you feel bad right now. I can sympathise with that. Here we had no chance to see our kids grow up and that's horrible. I somehow wish I could see Luke on his first day in school or help him with his homework and all that stuff where a boy needs his father. I deem you think similar?" he asked and waited patiently for Nick's answer. At length the older man turned his gaze away from Allison and looked at him.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He just responded, but Connor knew that he couldn't say more right now. So Connor gave momentarily up and focussed on other things.

"What do you think will happen, when we find Helen and she is indeed planning to destroy our version of the ARC?"

"I don't know, Connor. We have to stop her. Knock her out, trap her in a room, something. We just have to stop her."

Something hidden within Nick's voice made Connor cringe inwardly. It was something indescribable, something Nick had never before shown. And to be brutally honest, it was scary as Hell. Personally Connor would rather meet a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the middle of mating season than to face Nick in this kind of mood.

"But if we stop Helen and return to our time, things won't happen as they did here. And didn't you say, that messing with time was dangerous?" Connor asked, hoping the wrath Nick showed wouldn't break free upon him.

"Technically you're right, but if we don't act now, nothing of this could take place. And if you ask me, I intend to see my child grow up. If Helen gets to Jenny or Abby or anyone else, it's possible that this version of the future won't take place at all. So we have to destroy Helen's plans, which means changing the future by returning."

Understanding Connor nodded, but he didn't feel any better. There was something in Nick's tone, something indescribable, but Connor thought it would go ill for Helen, if she crossed his path.

"Just one more question and then I'll be silent, ok?" the younger man said, knowing about his ability to give Nick headaches. Surprisingly his friend smiled and looked expectantly at him without asking.

"Let's just assume, the worst happens. What do we do then?" there was no need to explain to Nick what 'the worst' was. That scenario was that Helen shot one of their friends or loved ones. But the reaction that simple a question triggered in Nick's face and especially his eyes was creepy. There was only one emotion left in them and that was pure hate. Sure, Connor had seen Nick angry before, but this was so much more than just Anger. And thinking of the worst case scenario bereft Nick of all other emotions left within him. All he could think of now was what he would do, if Helen shot Jenny. He had long ago stopped loving Helen or even caring for her and Jenny was more dear to him than she had ever been. He wasn't by nature a vengeful man, but if Jenny would get hurt, he would avenge her without a moment of hesitation.

"To be honest, I would rather shoot Helen than seeing that type of future happen." He said quietly, knowing that this answer was one he hadn't yet used. Sure, everyone knew him and Helen loathed each other, but he had ever thought she would come around one day, that she would stop that madness. But if she chose to destroy his life out of whatever an emotion she had with it, he would stop her. He felt, rather than he saw, Connor stiffen next to him, and he could understand that reaction. The younger man knew he would do anything to ensure the others were safe, but that he actually went as far as saying he would take a human life to protect another, was a bit drastic.

All of a sudden, Luke's voice broke the few strands of talk that murmured around them all.

"Allie! Get here, I got her! Allie!" he shouted loudly, and started hammering on the keyboard with his fingers.  
Quickly Allison appeared behind him, her gaze steady and determined, showing the will that overshadowed the actions of all others.

"Where is she?"

"Wait. She's outside town, exact coordinates coming in now. We're ready to go in a few seconds." Luke replied shortly and in a way that made clear he was experienced in that kind of thing.

"Ok, people, this is it! Let's get going." Allison shouted, while she already grabbed a backpack from one of the nearby tables and shot a quick glance towards Nick and Connor, who stood waiting next to the huge doors, leading to the underground parking lot. It seemed that an awful lot of things was beneath ground level, Allison had explained that it was necessary to be less suspicious. That way it was more difficult for Helen to find them, and the New ARC was not that big a target for the press. Allison led the way towards several trucks, some of them looked like advanced version of their own trucks. There the small group split up and divided itself to different cars. Nick and Connor would drive with Luke and Allison in one car, the Special Forces behind them in a huge truck and at the rear some of Allison's scientists and her own Anomaly Response Team (shortly called 'ART').  
It took a little more than 20 minutes to get to the location Luke had told them about, it was barely outside town, a small grassy patch of green within dull grey. The drive had been silent for the most part, occasionally broken by remarks of Luke on what direction to take. Now as they stopped, the young man instantly jumped out of the car and began walking across the small field. Suddenly the small gadget in his hands began to beep furiously and he pulled another one from his jacket. As to where Luke hid all these technical devices, no one could tell. He seemed to have about a hundred pockets and they all were stuffed with various things, most of them probably electronical. Nick stepped up to him, closely followed by Connor and Allison.

"The anomaly was right here. She opened it and closed it right away. I reckon it was here for a grand total of three minutes or something like that. Don't worry, I can reopen it. And before you ask, no I can't give you an explanation as to how I will do that." He added with a sidelong glance towards Connor. "You'll find out anyway. And if not you, I will for sure."

Despite the tensed situation Allison grinned at Connor, as if she already had been prepared for that kind of question. Allison left Luke and Connor alone and headed back towards the car, already getting out of her jacket, revealing a tight black shirt and a gun belt. Nick had followed her, he had the slight fear that this was his only chance to talk to his daughter. It was possible that they changed the future the moment they stepped through the anomaly, drastically and in a way that didn't involve Allison to ever being born, or that Helen managed to hurt Jenny so badly that she would lose the child growing in her belly. Which was what he feared the most, along with Jenny getting killed. Both of these horrific images fought within his head for dominion and it still was uncertain what would win. But there was a slight gleam of hope in the back of his mind; hope that he could help Jenny and make the future; with Allison in it; possible. Yet Nick decided that he still had some time left before he had to cross Helen's plans again and he wanted to spend it by talking to Allison.

As if she had sensed him, Allison turned around and showed him a weak smile, seeming strong and vulnerable at the same time.

"I know what it is you're thinking. But that's rubbish. Don't blame yourself, there was no way you could have known that it was part of Helen's plan. Mum never blamed you and neither do I." She said quietly and her steady gaze revealed that she spoke the truth.

"Looks like you have inherited Jenny's ability to guess what I'm thinking." Nick answered with a faint smile on his lips. Though he hadn't known Allison for long, she was dear to him. He just knew she was his daughter and it felt good to be a father.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked casually, while she loaded her gun.

"Sure, you can ask me anything."

"If you would have known about me, would you have been happy?"

Frowning Nick looked at her. He had been prepared for almost every question there was, but not this one.

"What, you mean, if Jenny had a chance to tell me, she's pregnant? Of course I would have been happy." He answered, shaking his head slightly, which resulted in another faint smile and Allison gazing into nowhere again.

"It's just… Well Mum told me, that she never had the chance to tell you and that she never knew how you would have reacted to that. I guess, I just wanted to know."

Nick wanted to tell her more, tell her how much he ever wanted children of his own, how he was jealous at his brother, when he had kids, but he was cut short by Luke again, who waved hurriedly. So they abandoned their talk and made their way towards him and Connor standing next to him. On the way Allison passed Nick his gun and Connor received his own back.

"Ok, I have the trail of the anomaly. No doubt, it leads to 2010. March 17th to be exact. I don't know, where it will lead to, I can only tell you the time. But I guess, it won't be too far away from the ARC, because there are some footprints here that are definitely not human and Helen can't risk walking with all those creatures through the better part of London. At the very least I think there are five different species of creatures, but how many of each species is unknown to me. You will be in a tight spot over there. Are you sure, you don't want to take armed response with you?"

They had talked about that, going in full armoury through the anomaly, but the risk was too great. What if one of the soldiers lost a part of his equipment there and it was picked up by someone. That could result in total chaos, though none really could foresee what a change might do to the timeline. And they were going to make changes, because in the normal timeline they never returned, but now they would. Slowly Nick's head began to throb with all the possibilities and dangers ahead of them, so he only half listened to Allison telling Luke that they had disagreed before. Yet suddenly his mind emerged out of the cloud of confusion again as Allison announced she would be going with them.

"Wait a second! You want to go through the anomaly in our time? But that's impossible. You're already there!" Nick answered his daughter and surprisingly Connor agreed with him again.

_Often happens nowadays…_

"We can't know what could happen there, but I'm pretty sure that two versions of you could result in bad things." The young man stated.

"Define 'bad things'." Allison challenged him, aware of her strength again.

"Well, how about the problem that you could be destroying the whole concept of time and space? It's a theory, but technically it's impossible that two people from different periods of time would be in the same space. It could result in the destruction of everything we are trying to safe."

"Ever heard of a loophole, Connor? You're right, technically it would be impossible but I'm only theoretical present in your world." Allison answered calmly, which only had the effect that now three men looked at her as if she was either nuts or they couldn't follow her. And that really was saying something, for her Mum had always told her she had inherited her Dad's intelligence. So technically he should understand it. Seeing his frown of thought, while he tried to figure out the meaning of her words, she sighed and spoke again.

"Look, you would be right, if we would be returning to a time where I'm already born. But we're going to a time where Mum is pregnant with me, so technically I'm not there yet. So, it's a loophole."

Slowly Nick began to understand, but it still was hugely confusing and he again felt a migraine approaching and decided that if he would life to see the next day, he wanted some Aspirin. Again the voice of his daughter stopped his thoughts.

"Ok, people, time is running. Captain, I want you to cover as much ground as possible. I want nothing to cross over here that's more dangerous than a coffee mug. If you catch sight on any creature or Helen's clones, open fire immediately. While I'm gone, Luke is in charge. You will follow his orders as if they are mine. Got it?" Surprisingly all the soldiers nodded without hesitation, though they seemed not pleased at all with her decision. Meanwhile Luke had begun with preparations to open the anomaly again. It took him less than two minutes and the glimmering light of he time rift appeared right in front of them. Both men only hesitated a moment to glance back into their future. The future as they, their children knew it. What would come to pass, if they failed today, none could foretell.

"Are you sure about this, Allison?" Nick asked with a concerned glance towards his daughter, who only nodded and loaded yet another one of her weapons.

_Jesus, how many weapons does she own?_

Nick was the first one to pass the light, followed by Connor and at last Allison glanced back towards Luke, who smiled both sad and encouraging. He counted on them, so they had to try and safe the future again.

* * *

so, there's chapter four. Next chapter will be the chase for Helen, but it won't be easy work, I'll give you that! 

Review if you like, it would be very nice^^


	5. Chapter 5

ok, guys, finally I have finished this chapter and submitted it! I know, it took a long time, but the rest will be up here shortly. Seemingly I defeated my writing-barricade so Horray to me! And I'm truly sorry that it took so long...

Read and enjoy (at least I hope so^^)

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Date: Friday 17th March, 2010 23h 15

Location: Anomaly Research Centre, London, UK

As so often in the past two days Jenny stood inside her husbands office, glancing at the known items around her. Their wedding photo had its place right on Nick's desk, everything was littered, it looked like he just walked outside to get some coffee. But he hadn't. Instead he had stepped through an anomaly into whatever time, it was possible that he already was dead and Connor with him. Abby was trashed by that possibility, but Jenny refused to let the others see the hurt within her. At least one of them had to stand and be strong, one of them had to support those who couldn't stand anymore. Lovingly she stroked her belly, a lonely tear strolling down her cheek. She felt so goddamn alone, bereft of the one thing she cared the most for. The past two days had been like a nightmare to her and probably to the others as well. They had stayed at the anomaly site as long as possible, but evidently Lester had called them, advising them to go home. Reluctantly Jenny had obeyed, driven home, but as soon as her foot was over the threshold, she had started crying, breaking down in the hallway, while she held her hands protectively over her belly. She feared what could happen to her husband, had cried for him and the loss of everything they had built up together. After some time her sobs finally came to an end and she stood up, looking at the house as if it was a museum, careful not to disturb any of those precious memories, she had spent a while in his office, just looking at the stack of shelves containing his books and fossils, stroking the wood of the desk, whilst she pressed a photo of them together to her chest.

Slowly Jenny had made her way upstairs, to their bedroom and the spare room, which Jenny had decided to be the nursery. Now he wouldn't be there, when his child was born, or when it grew up and …

She couldn't think no further and had decided with finality that she couldn't stay there, in their house, not that night. So she had driven to Abby's place, knowing the woman would be awake still, like herself, not able to find sleep whilst thinking of what might have happened to them. And there, drowning in tears, Abby had told her she was pregnant too, and hadn't told them yet, but Connor knew. And all the while, as they cried themselves to sleep, Rex sat on a rail high up in the roof of the flat, silent and sad, just like the two women had been. The Diictodons, Sid and Nancy, were in Connor's old room, both cowering in some corner as if they felt an essential part of their life had been lost.

Wiping her face, Jenny returned to reality again, but soon felt that her life would be living amongst memories now, that she was incapable of happiness now. At least now. She hoped though, that the pain would subside in a while, but she knew it wouldn't vanish entirely.

"Jenny?" came Sarah's voice from behind her, faint and caring. Sniffing Jenny turned around to face her friend, but couldn't smile at her. And knowing Sarah would understand, she made no attempt to play actress with the friend. They all knew, it was a hard blow for Abby and Jenny, probably worse for Jenny, for she had already got close to losing Nick before, the day he had been shot by Helen. So Sarah offered her nothing more than silent reassurance, hoping it was not just a vain attempt. Together both women left the office, leaving it exactly as it was, wanting some kind of memory, and also because they still hoped both men would return. Though no anomaly had turned up since their disappearance, and no one was allowed to go through anymore, by Lester's order, they still hoped for the impossible. That both men would walk out of the next anomaly and stepped back into their life's.

They talked quietly to each other, it was a strange phenomena that had occurred the day after the men had vanished from sight. Everyone talked somewhat quieter, as if they were mourning the dead already. Though Jenny hated that inquiry, it was the most fitting. They all behaved as if they were already dead.

Yet suddenly, the blaring of the anomaly alert echoed through the huge building and startled them all. Momentarily confused Jenny stared into mid-air, not grasping what was happening. Then the whole place sprang suddenly to life, people appearing from everywhere, Abby leading the charge from the labs, Becker behind her, followed by some Special Forces men. All met at the ADD together, Sarah locating the anomaly, while everyone was anxious to see where it would be. Then all went pale as death, as they saw where the anomaly had opened. It was right in front of the ARC, already behind the safety preparations. That was the closest ever.

Becker reacted the first, turned and commanded his men to go with him and check it. The women followed them without so much as a moments hesitation, while the others were commanded to stay inside, and make their way towards the lower levels, where they would be safer at least than in the main room on ground level. They had barely reached the parking lot, where the anomaly was, when they heard a fierce roar and screams. So there was a creature out there, attacking the surprised soldiers. And even as Becker commanded them to stay there and not move or get in the way of him, Jenny spotted Helen walking leisurely around a corner, followed by a whole troop of her clones and loads of creatures dangling behind her.

"Oh, Mrs. Cutter!" She shouted grinning and Jenny knew her life was ended now. Helen had attacked the ARC, and now there would be no Scottish man to help her and stop Helen from achieving her goal by killing Jenny.

* * *

Gunshots, screams and roars in all varieties greeted Nick as he stepped out of the Anomaly. The large prow of the ARC loomed in darkness above them, while on the ground everything was separated into ever changing hues of black and blinding yellow from the rifle blasts.

_Man, Luke said it would be close to the ARC, but this…_

Closely after him came Connor and Allison, who seemed almost as speechless as he felt himself. The picture they had been thrown into looked like it was directly out of Edgar Allan Poe's mind when he had a nightmare. Three creatures lay already dead a bit ahead of them, killed soldiers underneath their huge bodies, or crushed between their enormous jaws in death. Blood covered the ground, mingled between human and animal, like a huge rug of terror. And what was worst, Nick and Connor knew most of the people lying dead there. They had been good soldiers, doing nothing other than their duty; good, trustworthy men and Nick felt the hate inside him nearly well over. These soldiers had never seen Helen in personal, and yet they had been standing in her way, all of the dead bodies grasping their rifles in a vain attempt to fight Helen off.

Suddenly a screech pierced the darkness ahead of them, a future predator had spotted them. Motionless Nick waited, he knew the pattern of attack. The creature would first locate where they stood and then try to cover as much ground as possible in order to strike. Mostly it was running a straight line, knowing that only the pure speed gave it the advantage. So Nick waited, until he saw it speeding towards him, subconsciously feeling he was the most dangerous now. When it was not more than thirty meters away and Nick could see it clearly, he quickly lifted the gun and gave a single shot. Roaring the creature collapsed right before his feet, clicking faintly until it lay dead. Usually he would feel bad for the creature, but this was something different. These creatures were under Helen's command and weren't acting normally. So he felt no guilt whatsoever by shooting them.

"Come on." He said and made his way through the mayhem towards the ARC, followed silently by Connor and Allison, who held their weapons ready.

They followed the sound of rifles and roars, death and pain mingled within them, hoping they wouldn't be too late already. Then a shout rang through the reigning dark around, it was Becker's voice, challenging Allison, who had taken the lead, grasping a huge futuristic rifle.

"Stop! Identify yourself or I'll open fire immediately!" he shouted, angry and confused.

"Becker, lower the gun! It's us!" Nick shouted back and took position right behind Allison, while Connor covered their rear. Momentarily both sides were confused and didn't react in any way, but Allison lowered her gun first, she simply pointed it in another direction other than Becker and the few men who still were with him. Several others lay dead in the looming grey of the emergency lights around them.

"Professor? You're back! Where the heck did you come from?" the soldier answered and stepped out of the shadows. He looked literally like Hell, blood covering his torso and his arms, several small wounds on his skin, but Nick reckoned it was mostly the blood of the creatures or his comrades.

_Time's pressing, Nick…_

"We've got no time to explain now! It's a long story. Where are the others?" he demanded instantly, and Becker only was confused for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"I've sent them back inside. Helen's here, she's got a whole army of clones and creatures here. We were able to kill some of them, but it's just too many. She followed the others inside, while we tried to hinder the creatures." Several rifle blasts echoed through the building and gravely Becker looked Nick in the eye.

"Looks like we haven't succeeded." He stated, breathing heavily.

"There's still time. If we get Helen, this whole nightmare is just another creature hunt." Allison barked from Nick's side and he looked surprised towards his daughter. She was right, Helen was the source and she must have some way of controlling the creatures, for they were all hooked up by neural clamps by the looks of it. All they had to do was get Helen, before she reached any of the women and changed the future again.

Without further word, Nick just nodded and turned towards the entrance, now only a pathetic excuse for a gate, torn and only hanging in it's hinges. Apparently something really big brought it down, probably Helen ordered one of the creatures to smash it. Silently, yet swiftly Nick entered the ARC, Connor closely behind him, Allison covering as much space with the range of her weapon and Backer leading the soldiers. It was oddly calm around them, death encircled them, leaving them with the dirty taste of blood on their tongues. Soldiers lay dead around them, their faces still expressing the fear they had felt in their last moments, several dead creatures and some dead clones. Nick heard Becker whisper a curse way behind him, so he turned his head to look the man in the face.

"That's the troop I sent back with Jenny and the others."

Cold chills ran down Nick's spine, but the fact that Allison was still there, meant that at least Jenny was still alive and she still was pregnant. But he had no idea about how Abby or Sarah were doing.

Yet before he could respond or take another step towards the main room, something roared ahead of them and charged through dimly lit floors, for most of the lights were destroyed and left them all in shades of grey. Nick had just enough time to recognize it was a Gorgonopsid, the neural clamp on his massive skull clearly seen. Its white fangs glittered and were dripping from saliva, its huge body wounded, but it still was standing and willing to attack the opponents. Shots rang around him, and still the creature lunged on, not heeding the wounds and the pain, only concentrating on the fresh meat ahead if it.

* * *

ok, if you like, click on the green button below and tell me what you think of it. I know, its a bit short, but I just felt that the chapter should end here. Next chapter will be up in a few days (or less, if my luck holds) 


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, guys, here is Chapter six. I apologize once again, because it took so long, but I wanted to finish the rest of it before I'd submit it. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter six

Date: Friday, March 17th 2010, 23h 27

Location: Anomaly Research Centre, London, UK

Gasping Jenny stopped around some corner. She had no idea where the others were, they had divided forces in order to confuse Helen. The soldiers had been killed, most of them lay now dead on the clean floor of the ARC. Not even in her worst nightmare Jenny would have suspected this, it was truly horrifying. She felt panic rise in her chest as she heard the heavy footfalls and the screeches of the creatures. Sure, there were a lot of soldiers within the ARC, but there were just too many creatures for them and they couldn't be everywhere at once. And Jenny suspected that Helen counted on that. She was that nutcases prime target. Gasping Jenny limped away, one of the creatures had landed a pretty good strike at her left leg, but thankfully it wasn't bleeding that heavily. So at the very least she wasn't going to bleed to death. It was far more likely that she was ripped to shreds before it came to that. She was no match now for Helen's creatures, all in the bloom of their health, swift and determined. Not knowing which way would be safest, she took lots of turnings and always managed to get as much space as possible between her and the pursuers. Out in the field Helen would win, but in here, right within the ARC, Jenny had the advantage, for she had spent a lot of time walking through these corridors. Dimly Jenny heard her shout out in anger, ordering her men to cover the corridors and followed Jenny. Unaimed gunshots rang through the air, ricochets bounced off the walls and Jenny only hoped she wouldn't be hit by one of them.

Groaning in pain she limped on, simply refused to give up just yet, there had to be a way out of this mess, though she couldn't see it right now. Helen was behind her, some of her clones and possibly a future predator or two and she was unarmed and wounded.

Great chances there…

But the thought of her unborn child kept her going still. It felt like an eternity, ere the sound of Helen and her abominations became more distant and for the first time Jenny allowed herself to stop and regain her breath. Almost at once her thoughts returned to Nick. As to why she had no idea, but they did. Where he was, what he did, if he still was alive. If he even knew, she needed him. Shaking her head heavily, she banned the thought from her mind, there were more pressing matters that needed looking-after. For instance, how she could get the pursuit off her heels. Deliberately she decided, that she wouldn't give up without a good fight and so made her way back towards the main room, which led towards the armoury. She just had to be very careful so she wouldn't be spotted by her enemies. But the sounds slowly died down, made way for an eerie silence surrounding her. Only gunshots far off could be heard and Jenny suspected that they belonged to Becker, who had sent them inside, while he tried to stop as many creatures as possible. Even the siren of the anomaly alert was hushed, maybe the anomaly had disappeared again.

Quickly Jenny made her way through the corridors, passing several labs on both sides of her, yet they were all deserted. The scientists and the staff without permission to handle a weapon had been sent downstairs, at least they would be safe. Abby and Sarah were probably within the armoury, for only there was the whole equipment kept and she suspected the women to get weapons. Without it, this was a loosing battle.

Swiftly she thrust the double-door open and passed into the silent room. She hadn't walked very far into it when she heard the cocking of several rifles and knew the hunt was over. Looking around herself, Jenny saw Helen at the other end of the room, leaning at the ADD, or what was left of it, for it lay broken on the ground. All of Connors favourite machine was destroyed and the pieces lay sprawled on the floor. Seeing the self-satisfied smug across Helen's features, Jenny knew it was entirely over now. There was no need to run, for Helen had won the battle and would kill her now.

* * *

Breathing heavily Nick walked past the huge dinosaur lying dead on the floor. Allison had delivered the final shot, aiming at the massive skull of the creature and had shot right into its opened jaws, killing it instantly. It was gruesome though, blood, teeth and raw meat mingled together into a disgusting substance, as the creature finally broke down.

Following his instinct, Nick took the way towards the main room; he couldn't tell why he steered there, but in situations like those he usually trusted his instincts.

Situations like those… we never had a situation like this…

True enough, there was the chance that Helen would be someplace else in this huge building, but Nick didn't believe it. He simply sensed Helen would be in the main room, it was the biggest room after all and every way ended there.

On the way they picked up a few scattered soldiers, who immediately followed Becker towards whatever end. Allison walked right behind Nick, her hands grasping a rifle she had picked up from the ground she looked like she was ready to do anything to end this dreadful night. Connor was next to her, shaking a bit, but determined to get the girl he loved out of there.

The further they walked inside, the lesser were any sounds. Shards of glass scattered below their feet, the labs deserted, the common room destroyed because a creature had rampaged in there. That silence was disturbing in itself, it was like the calm before the storm. And it was Helen who would unleash it upon their heads, so much was for sure. The corridor was dark, occasionally broken by surges of electricity from the broken lights above.

Suddenly they could see the double-door leading to the main room, and Nick crept close to it, followed by Becker, who peeked through the glass of one door to get a better look on what awaited them.

"Boy, you're not going to like this." He whispered low and turned his gaze back towards the Professor.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick whispered back, he already had a faint idea that the Captain was right.

"Helen's in there, and some clones. I can't see any creatures. But I can see Abby and Sarah. And Jenny. She holds them hostage."

Nick's eyes widened for a moment, while his hands tightened around the gun he held. He dimly heard Connor curse violently behind him, it was a miracle if the boy wouldn't start shooting through the doors immediately. Allison however was silent, her looming shadow unmoved, though Nick could bet she was as angry as he was. Yet her brow was furrowed, as if she was working on some sort of plan.

"Any bright ideas? Except storming in and open fire?" Nick asked the Captain in front of him, but Becker shook his head slowly. The man knew that rushing in would help no one, it could only result in disaster. Presently Allison spoke, her voice a raw hush in the silence.

"How many clones did you see?" she looked at the captain.

"I saw three standing guard next to Abby and Sarah. But where the others are, I don't know."

"We have passed none of her clones on the way. So I reckon, she has most of them with her. We just can't see them. I bet they're on the balcony in front of Lester's office upstairs. From there, they can cover the entrance. We have to take them out first."

Allison spoke swift and eager, as if this was a situation she had been in before. Startled Becker looked at the young woman.

"Where have you learned that? Who taught you that?" he asked whispering.

"You did. Long story." She added as she saw Becker's confused face.

"And how are we going to take them out?" Connor asked finally. Seemingly the boy had regained his temper and was at the least calmer than before.

"I'll go upstairs with Captain Becker and his men. We'll take them out. You two have to get the others free. But I bet Helen will not let them go just that easily." Her face and voice made it clear to Nick what she was implying at. Helen would rather kill them all than let them win. Solemnly he nodded. In his heart he knew there was no other choice to save Jenny, but still he wasn't sure if he was able to kill anyone.

Before Allison crept away into shadows with the meagre rest of the Special Forces, Nick grabbed her arm and held her back. Something inside him, and he supposed it was his fatherly instinct, was against her going.

"Please, be careful." He whispered low and only for her to hear.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just don't get killed." She murmured and left.  
Silently Nick counted the seconds and tried to find out how long it would take them to get upstairs. He just hoped she wouldn't get hurt. Lord help Helen, if she would get hurt. Glancing down at the weapon in his right hand, he made a decision. In his heart he knew he would gladly give his life to defend Jenny and the unborn child in her belly. So, without hesitation he stood up and walked boldly through the double-door, Connor close behind him.

* * *

Calmly Jenny looked into Helen's eyes. The woman had aimed a gun to her head, but Jenny chose to ignore it. If she died tonight, she would at least die with a bit of honour and not begging for mercy at Helen's heels. She just hoped Becker was still alive and would get Abby and Sarah out of this mess.

And so she stood erect, somewhat proud in front of the woman who had ruined everything, her plans for the future, her husband, her life. And if Jenny had a gun, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot her enemy, though that was a disturbing thought.

Helen hadn't yet spoken, she had only aimed that gun to her head, standing there with that usual grin across her face, which made her so much more dangerous. It was the grin of a woman, whose plan had succeeded at last. If any soldiers were left, they were scattered around the building, incapable of helping her.

Minutes flew past, until Helen spoke at last, her voice soothing and satisfied. She literally purred like the cat that ate the canary, so to speak.

Oh, how much I hate that…

"You know, Jenny, I have nothing against you in particular, but the future will be much less annoying without you in it. I have tried many things, until I finally understood that only by killing you here, I can make the future bearable."

Jenny frowned, that nutcase spoke in riddles.

"What?" she asked faintly. She was trying to get Helen to speak more plainly, maybe she could win some time to find a way out of this situation at last, if only for the child growing in her belly. But that smug never vanished from Helen's features.

"You and that little brat of yours will cause me loads of trouble in the future. So I have to find a way of removing you from the timeline before it's too late. You see, when that little bitch is born, there is next to nothing that can stop her from becoming like her father. The only way is to get her out of my calculations before she becomes a threat. And for that, I have to kill you now. That's the only way I can rid myself of that little slut in your belly."

A cold light glinted in Helen's eyes, she was serious. Her child would be Helen's worst enemy in the future and so she had to die now, before she could give birth to the child. Her daughter really, because Helen had implied it was a girl. Cold sweat appeared on her forehead, there had to be a way out of this. Only seconds flew past, and dimly Jenny could hear the double door swing open and a well-known voice rolled through the huge room, making Helen's face fall for an instant.

"Stop insulting my daughter, Helen!"

Hope gleamed up within Jenny's heart, she would recognize that voice everywhere. Her brown eyes flew over to the spot where the voice had spoken and really, there he was. Grimly he aimed a gun at his former wife, his blue eyes full of hate and anger, an emotion she had never seen in his eyes before.

"You let her go now Helen. This instant!" he shouted angrily, but the woman didn't move an inch. Instead, her smug just got wider.

"How very nice of you to join us, Nick." Helen just answered, her voice calm, but Nick knew her well enough to know that she was indeed surprised and saw her chances sink. But she was down maybe, but not yet beaten. With one swift movement, she grabbed Jenny by the throat and moved her in Nick's line of fire, pressing her own gun against Jenny's temple. Grinning she looked at Nick again, knowing he would never shoot with his precious wife in the way. And indeed, the light of anger disappeared and concern clouded his face.

"If you come any nearer, I'll shoot her in front of your eyes. I mean it, Nick." She murmured into the eerie silence about them.

Nick didn't heed the words, all of his senses were bound to his wife. She looked disturbingly calm, even with a gun at her head.

I wonder what goes on in her head now…

Seeing the gun press harder into the pale skin of Jenny's beautiful face, Nick tried to get his focus back to Helen. And in doing so, he felt the anger and all the hate rise again and block out his judgement. Eyes dangerously narrowed, he lifted the gun again and aimed right at Helen's skull.

"Seriously Nick. I'll count to five!" she said loudly, but fell silent as she perceived Nick's grim smile.

"Fine. I'll count to three." He whispered, while his voice and his eyes went deadly cold, banishing all emotion except hate. Neither of the people within the main room had ever seen him like that before, and to be honest, it was truly terrifying.

Yet before anyone could react, several things happened at once.

* * *

So in order to save you the pain of another cliffhanger, I will submit the next chapter right away. I'm sorry for that many cliffhangers, but the problem is, I write as if I would make a movie, so every cliffhanger is like there would the scene end. So please forgive me for that. I'll try to stop me doing that amount of cliffhangers, Ok? 

Review if you like! Results in beaming smiles and a good feeling in my heart!


	7. Chapter 7

As promised, next chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter seven

Date: March 17th 2010, 23 h 53

Location: Anomaly Research Centre, London, UK

Suddenly gunshots ripped the silence apart and everything sprang to life, as if an invisible sign had been given. The clones surrounding Abby and Sarah looked up towards the balcony, where several of their kinsmen lay dead on the floor. Instead, the last remnant of Special Forces took aim and opened fire. And even as a brown-haired girl sped towards the ramp that lead down into the room, and Connor gave a shot towards a clone, Jenny moved her head and bit deep into Helen's left hand. With all the force she could manage she dug her teeth into the soft flesh, heard the joints creak and tendons snap, before Helen pulled her hand away. The sudden movement startled Jenny and she fell hard to the ground. Screaming in agony Helen staggered away, temporarily forgetting everything except the pain in her left hand.

Even as Jenny managed to pull herself to a sitting position and moved her gaze back towards Helen, she saw the woman raise the gun at her again. Everything seemed to slow down as she perceived the wrath in Helen's gaze. As three shots rang, Jenny closed her eyes and ducked herself to the ground again, shielding her head with her hands. After a few moments Jenny realized she wasn't hurt, the bullet aimed at her head had dug itself into the concrete not three inches away from her.

Startled she looked up again, watching as Helen broke down in front of her, the hatred in her eyes extinguished by the two holes in her chest. Hard she fell, but by the time she hit the floor, her eyes told that she was dead. Again, silence rose around her, while Jenny couldn't look anywhere else other than Helen's dead body next to her. She felt, rather than she saw someone getting closer to her. And then she understood at last. Helen had aimed at her and Nick had shot her. He had shot his ex-wife in order to save her. And as disturbing that thought was, she somehow was glad he had killed her.

And as Nick laid his hand on her shoulder in that silent caring manner he had, a lonesome tear fell from Jenny's eyes, before she turned her gaze away towards Nick's careworn eyes. Finally she let the emotion break free within her and hurled her trembling body to his in a desperate attempt to forget the events of tonight. After what felt like hours, but couldn't possibly have been more than a few minutes, she heard his voice whisper in her ear, silently, faintly, as if he was as distraught as she was.

"God, I was so worried. I thought I'd lose you. I had no choice, she would have killed you." He whispered right in her ear and Jenny knew he was sorry he had shot Helen. And indeed Nick had hoped he would find a way to stop Helen without hurting her. And that one terrible moment when he had pulled the trigger, he had felt free at last. He actually had been happy to shoot her, a feeling that would haunt him forever, he was sure of it. But at least Jenny was safe, she was alive as were the others. From his crouching position, Jenny in his arms, he could see Abby holding on to Connor, while Becker had rushed downstairs to Sarah. As far as he could see, no one was injured badly, just a few cuts and bruises, the shock being the worst. Even Jenny's leg didn't look so bad, seemingly she got out of the way fast enough to be seriously injured.

Pulling Jenny along, he stood up and let his gaze wander through the room. Allison stood silent and smiling behind him and looked at Jenny. She still held the rifle, but the barrel pointed towards the ground now.

"Are you ok, Allison?" Nick asked, suddenly concerned for his daughters well-being. At that Jenny turned towards the young woman also and for a few seconds stared at her blankly. Then something seemed to click in her mind and she understood.

"You are the girl Helen talked about, right? You're the future version of our child?" she asked quietly, as if she was worried Allison was a dream that could fade if she spoke louder. With tears in her eyes, the young woman nodded, incapable of any words. And even as Allison made a step forward to her parents, an unseen wind pulled her hair. No one else felt it, it was just around Allison. At first she seemed concerned but suddenly the young woman beamed towards the others.

"Allison, what's happening?" Nick asked as he saw his daughters hand getting translucent, as if she was vanishing.

Smiling the first genuine smile, she looked at him and laughed.

"Don't worry. Now that Helen is gone, the future as you saw it will not happen. That means, I will be different and not as you see me here. And it also means that I never will be forced to go backwards in time to stop Helen. Complicated I know, but I already knew this would happen." She grinned satisfied towards her parents, while the wind pulled her hair.

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked, slightly fearful at the sight of his daughter disappearing.

"I had my reasons. Don't worry. I will see you all again. I guarantee I won't be something like this for another fifteen years, but I will see you in a few months." Her voice trailed away, as if she was moving away herself. And amidst his thoughts, Nick understood. It had been necessary for her to be silent about that part in order to come here. If he had known, he would have hindered her to come and this night would have had another outcome entirely.

"I can't wait for that." He whispered and smiled towards the fading form of his child.

Hearing that, Allison smiled even brighter and closed her eyes as she disappeared completely at last.  
A few moments there was silence around them, everyone staring at the spot where the girl had stood just a few seconds ago. At length Connor spoke, his voice faint and exhausted.

"So, it's over now?"

Breathing deeply, Nick returned his gaze towards his younger friend and smiled faintly, heedless of the wreckage around them.

"Yeah, somehow." He answered, feeling his mood brighten already, as if a heavy load was lifted off his shoulders.

* * *

I know, it's short, but I wanted this to be an extra chapter due to the way I write. Reviews would be lovely!


	8. Epilogue

Ok, people, this is it! The last chapter! The ending! I really hope you like it, I did my best!

* * *

Epilogue

Date: Friday, 25th October, 2010, 20 h 45

Location: University College Hospital, Regents Park, London UK

Nick had received the call he had been waiting for hours ago. Jenny was overdue on the birth of his first (and hopefully not last) child and had been irritably all week long. She kept having terrible mood-swings from good to bad and back again. They suspected it was normal, because Nick's brother had told him once that women tended to have mood-swings (extra bad ones) during their first pregnancy. Nick endured it as best he could, but within himself he had counted the days until Jenny would go into labour. Both Jenny and Abby had been ordered to stay within the ARC, though with Abby it had been a heavy struggle. She kept insisting that she felt like dead weight with staying behind while the others had some outdoor-action (such was her words), but at last both women had obeyed, partly due to the fact that an extra soldier was to look out they wouldn't sneak out and do anything they shouldn't be doing. As usual with his luck, he had been at an anomaly site when it had started and Sarah had driven Jenny to the nearest hospital.

So, when the call had reached him, and Sarah told him is wife was in the hospital and she was in labour he could finally understand his brother when he had told Nick of the birth of his first child. He experienced the same thing. His knees had been shaking along with his hands, his head swam, he couldn't think clearly, he couldn't see properly; which had resulted in Becker grabbing his car keys and pulling off a rather impressive race to the hospital.

As soon as Nick had passed the doors, he just wanted to get to Jenny. And after six hours of pain and screams (along with some pain for Nick, because Jenny was clutching his hand like there was no tomorrow for her), he had heard his daughter's first cry in this world. And the moment she had opened her eyes for the first time and had looked at him, he couldn't help but weep at the beauty of that tiny human in his wife's arms.

Now he was sitting on Jenny's bed and couldn't decide who was more beautiful. His wife or his daughter. She was wrapped in a small warm blanket and her eyes examined everything near. Tiny hands gripped his fingers, while Nick was certain he would soon split at the ears, due to his smile. One arm around Jenny, who was very exhausted, but as happy as he was, and one hand resting on the pillow the nurse had given Jenny to place their daughter on. From time to time he forced himself to look away from his child and kissed Jenny's silken hair.

Funnily enough, shortly after Jenny had given birth, Abby had gone into labour. Connor was close to fainting, but kept his place next to Abby and his guts together, so to speak. They didn't know how things were currently, because Nick just refused to leave his wife's side.

After some time, as he looked towards Jenny again, Nick saw her eyelids droop a bit. Carefully he stood up and gathered the small child in his arms and sat on a nearby chair. Of course there was a cradle next to the bed, but he didn't want to place her in it. So he just sat on the chair and rocked his daughter until her tiny eyes closed and she fell asleep. He forgot the time while he observed his child, the little bit of brown hair on her head, the tiny hand that gripped his finger, those adorable blue eyes gleaming like spikes of ice and felt this child taking up his universe.

A faint knocking on the door gained his attention as he watched Becker walk in. The Captain seemed rather out of place with his black combat gear in the hospital. At first he looked towards the bed, but let his gaze wander through the room until his eyes settled on Nick. Before he could open his mouth to speak, the Professor started.

"Shhh, they're sleeping." Nick whispered low and watched the Captains face light up as he drew closer and looked at the small bundle in Nick's arms. As the Captain sat down silently on another chair close to him, Nick focussed his thoughts on Becker again.

"How's Abby doing?" he asked smiling. The younger woman was almost like a little sister (if not a daughter) to him, and everyone knew that.

"She's ok. They're just moving her here. She's exhausted and cursed Connor several times, but she's fine I guess." Smiling at the memory both men fell silent for a moment.

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Nick asked with a knowing smile across his features which resulted only in a disbelieving stare of the Captain next to him. Abby had refused from the first moment to get the gender of the child told to her, but both Nick and Connor knew it would be a boy. But they had kept their experiences on the other side of the anomaly to themselves, not knowing which effect it could have on the present. So they alone knew how their children would look in the future and still, it could be possible that certain events now wouldn't take place. And silently Nick was grateful for that. He had always preferred to not knowing what would happen, that way he could still be surprised.

While he kept silent with a smile on his lips, staring into his daughters eyes, Becker had recovered from his shock and cleared his throat.

"Erm, yeah, it's a boy. I think its better if I don't ask how you knew that, hm?" he added with a little grin of his own.

"Yeah, that's probably better." answered Nick calmly, forcing his eyes towards the black-clad soldier next to him. His daughter slept peacefully in his arms and the feeling of holding her tiny body to his became natural at an almost alarmingly fast rate. Both men were silent for a long time, not wanting to disrupt the peace of the whole situation by talking. At length Becker announced he'd go and check on Abby and try to get Sarah home. With a last glance towards the Professor, who sat unmoving on the chair, his glance never leaving his child, he left quietly.

* * *

The next day

Fortunately Jenny's doctors had allowed Nick to stay at the hospital during the night, as did Connor. Late at night they had met outside the hospital, both beaming like there was no tomorrow, talking and boasting on their children. Connor had persuaded Becker to get a bottle of champagne, and the newly fathers sat outside the hospital, drinking champagne out of plastic cups, each one happy in their own fashion. As the horizon gleamed brighter by the rising of the sun, they had returned to their wifes. Jenny had been awake by then, lying peacefully on her bed, one finger gently stroking her daughters hand.  
As her glance settled at Nick, he thought his heart would well over by the mere sight of Jenny smiling at him. He had accompanied her on the bed, his fingers curling a strand of her dark hair as he did every night. Soon he dozed away, Jenny watching him smiling, he hadn't yet slept. As a matter of fact, he hadn't slept very much in the past few days. It was good that he found rest now. After some time Jenny joined him within the dream worlds, their daughter sleeping peacefully in the cradle next to the bed.

In the afternoon, Becker and Sarah visited them, and strangely brought a congratulation card from Lester and some of the lab staff. Abby and Connor had gotten the same, announced they as Connor gently shoved his beloved women on a wheelchair through the door into Jenny's room. Cradled in her arms was a little boy, displaying the same curly black hair as Connor had.

"Oh, my, he's just adorable!" exclaimed Sarah, but shot a somewhat expecting glance towards Becker. Suddenly the strong soldier looked like a frightened deer caught in the headlights of a train, clearly Sarah was hinting at taking their relationship a step further. Grinning Nick an Connor exchanged amused glances, this would be interesting.

With his daughter resting comfortably in his arms, Nick observed the members of his little team, gathered in Jenny's recovery room. Abby's happy smile whenever her glance drifted to Connor, Sarah sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Connor's son gently, Becker who sat with a somewhat concerned expression in the chair Nick had occupied hours earlier and Jenny, his Jenny, talking to the women, while her eyes gleamed with a light he hadn't yet seen. Then his attention shifted back to the small bundle of life in his arms and he looked long and lovingly into his child's eyes.

Presently Abby's voice pulled him out of thought.

"We thought about calling him Luke. Simply because otherwise Connor wouldn't rest nagging me about it. Luke Temple, sounds good, doesn't it?" she asked while Connor beamed towards his son.

"Yes, Luke sounds good." Nick confirmed and shot another knowing glance towards his younger team-mate and friend.

"And what about her? Have you thought of names yet?" Sarah asked while she handed little Luke back to his mother. Smiling Nick looked towards his wife, who answered promptly.

"Allison. Wouldn't want to tempt fate. Allison Janine Cutter. Janine was the name of my grandmother." Jenny explained smiling warmly.

"And Allison was the name of mine." Nick concluded smiling upon his child.

His daughter, though hopefully not the last child of his, looked back into his eyes and smiled faintly. A nurse had told him that such little babies don't smile, but Allison smiled.

**The End**

* * *

So, this was it! I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfiction. Sadly it's over because I had fun writing this. 

**Thanks belong to all my reviewers, especially to Cakey, who reviewed every single chapter of every story I yet wrote! Thanks Cakey, you're the best!**

It may be that I will write another fanfiction and if so, I expect you all to read it then!


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